Adjustable bow sight

ABSTRACT

A bow sight is provided with a sight mount which is both vertically and transversely adjustable with respect to a supporting bar. An anvil and base assembly serve to attach the support bar to an archery bow and include fastening means permitting of both forward and lateral tilting of the support bar and its sight mount.

United States Patent [1 1 Bear et al.

[451 Jan. 29, 1974 ADJUSTABLE BOW SIGHT [75] Inventors: Fred B. Bear;Owen E. Jefferey,

both of Grayling, Mich.

[73] Assignee: Victor Comptometer Corporation,

Chicago, Ill.

[22] Filed: Sept. 22, 1972 [2]] Appl. No.: 291,324

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No.68,425, Aug. 31,

1970, abandoned.

521 us. Cl. 33/265 [51] Int. Cl. F4lg 1/00, F41b 5/00 [58] Field ofSearch 33/265 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,318,2985/1967 Bear .f. 33/265 3,574,944 4/1971 Reynolds 33/265 PrimaryExaminer-Louis R. Prince Assistant Examiner steven L. Stephan Attorney,Agent, or Firm-Emory L. Grof f, Jr. 8L Emory L. Groff [5 7 ABSTRACT Abow sight is provided with a sight mount which is both vertically andtransversely adjustable with respect to a supporting bar. An anvil andbase assembly serve to attach the support bar to an archery bow andinclude fastening means permitting of both forward and lateral tiltingof the support bar and its sight mount.

8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures ADJUSTABLE BOW SIGHT This application is acontinuation-in-part of our copending Application Ser. No. 68,425, filedAug. 31, 1970 and now abandoned.

This invention relates generally to an archery accessory and moreparticularly to an adjustable bow sight which may be readily attached toand removed from the stock of practically any type of archery bow.

Sighting devices adapted to be connected to archery bows, either in apermanent manner or for ready disconnection therefrom, are generallywell known. The present invention provides-an improved assembly forsupporting a sight aperture in a two-way adjustably movable holder. Itwill be realized by those skilled in the art that the configuration anddimensions of bow backs vary from bow to bow. The present inventionincludes, generally, a base assembly with a mounting plate adapted to beattached to a bow back by means of appropriate fasteners, a verticalsupport bar adjustably mounted on the base assembly and a circular sightaperture movably positioned on the vertical support bar. The plane ofthe mounting plate relative to the bow string will vary between any twobows of different configuration. It is necessary to adjust the relativeangle between the vertical support bar bearing the sigh aperture and thebowstring in order to permit the archer to properly align the sightaperture with the target. Archery targets commonly have a circularcenter ring and if the vertical support bar and the circular sightaperture on the bow are not properly adjusted theeye of the archer willbe looking through an elliptical sight aperture which would be difficultto properly align with respect to the circular center ring of thetarget. In certain situations such as when the archer is close to thetarget, the vertical support bar will be parallel-to the bow string.When shooting far from the target, however, the arrow would be aimedupwardly to an extent dependent upon the distance from the target andvelocity of travel of the arrow. In such a situation, the verticalsupport bar would be adjusted so that the sight aperture would beaxially aligned with the target and in making such an adjustment, thevertical support bar would not be parallel in a verticalplane to the bowstring. The uniquemeans included to permit adjustment of the verticalsupport bar and sight aperture in both vertical and transverse planeswith respect to the bow string comprises releasable fasteners adapted tobe readily adjusted by means of a simple too] even while in the field.Additionally, it is proposed to allow for ready conversion of theinstant bow sight for use by either righthanded or lefthanded archers,which modification may be achieved without the addition of any othercomponents or the alteration of the base mount of the device, while atall times it is possible to quickly provide for both windage andelevation adjustments of the sight aperture by the ready manipulation ofappropriate finger knobs.

Accordingly, one of the primary objects of the present invention is toprovide an improved bow sight including manually controlled means forproviding both windage and elevation adjustment.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedadjustable bow sight including quickly manipulatable means to permitcorrect alignment of the sight aperture with the target in both verticaland transverse-planes.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedadjustable bow sight assembly having hand-manipulatable means forproviding both windage and elevation adjustment and including anintermediate extension assembly adjustable to vary the distance of thesight aperture from the archers eye.

With these and other objects in view which will more readily appear asthe nature of the invention is better understood, the invention consistsin. the novel construction, combination, and arrangements of partshereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

The preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the adjustable bow sight of the presentinvention as it appears when attached to the back side of a bow.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation similar to FIG. 1, but including anintermediate adjustable extension assembly between the base assembly andforward sight assembly.

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of the adjustable bow sight assembly of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 is a rear elevation of the bow sight assembly as it appears whenremoved from a bow.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the adjustable bow sight assembly as shownin FIG. 2.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughoutthe several figures of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings, more particularly FIG. 1, the presentinvention will be seen to comprise a bow sight device adapted to beremovably attached to the back surface 1 of an archery bow 2 in the areaimmediately above the arrow rest 3. The suggested manner of providingfor this attachment will be discussed hereinafter. The bow sightincludes three principal components, namely, a base assembly 4immediately adjacent the bow back 1, an intermediate anvil assembly 5,and a forwardmost sight assembly 6. During use of the present invention,it will be understood that the base assembly 4 is rigidly affixed to thebow back l-by means of the manually controlled mounting screw 7. i

The forward sight assembly 6 is arranged to include appropriate means tofixedly support any suitable type I of sight aperture 8 such as thebeaded post element shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings. However, it will beunderstood that any of numerous well known types of aperture elementsmay be substituted for that shown. The sight aperture 8 is containedwithin the aperture or sight mount 9 which is in turn attached forlateral movement by means of the keyway 10 to the vertically movablesight holder 11. The sight holder 1 l is adapted to be movablypositioned atany point upon the vertical support bar 12. This supportbar is preferably of an H- beam type of configuration and includes asymmetrical design providing on each side thereof a rear slide 13 and afront slide 14 which areseparated by means of the groove 15. Theaforementioned sight holder 11 is attached juxtoposed the face of thevertical support bar 12 and is retained thereagainst by means of a pairof clamping shoes 16 which are shownmost clearly in FIG. 5 and will beseen to project behind the front slide 14 and extend into the grooves15. These clamping shoes 16 are integral with the shaft of the lockscrew 17 which passes forwardly through a smooth bore extending throughthe sight holder body and which includes on its forwardmost portion theknob 18. A suitable compression spring 19 is disposed between the outerface of the movable sight holder 11 and the rear face of the knob 18,such that constant tension is exerted on the lock screw shaft 17 in aforward direction in order to maintain posqtive clamping pressure uponthe shoe 16. It will thus follow that, with the internally threaded knob18 spaced from the sight holder 11 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, rearwardpressure upon the outer face of the knob 18 will produce a correspondingrearward displacement of the clamping shoe 16 away from the front slide14 so that the retaining force securing the movable sight holder inplace will be relieved, thereby permitting selective vertical adjustmentof the entire forward sight assembly within the limits of the height ofthe vertical support bar 12. Quite obviously, by fully compressing thespring 19 with the knob 18, the forward sight assembly will be mostrigidly affixed to the support bar.

In order to provide for appropriate windage adjustment of the sightaperture 8, means are included to permit lateral or transversedisplacement of the aperture mount 9 along the aforementioned keyway 10.Such means includes a screw 20 disposed within a threaded bore extendingthroughout the transverse extent of the aperture mount 9 and havingadjacent one end thereof an enlarged collar 21, as shown in FIG. 3. Thiscollar will be seen to be spaced slightly inwardly of the windageadjustment knob 22 to provide a limited space therebetween. Disposedwithin this space is the lower forked portion of a plate retainer 23which is rigidly attached to the side of the movable sight holder 11 bymeans of a screw 24. From the above description, it will i be seen thatupon rotary displacement of the windage adjustment knob 22, the attachedscrew will berotated and, since this screw is axially captivated bymeans of the retainer 23, the aperture mount 9 will be transverselydisplaced. v

In order to provide a point of reference to indicate to aparticular'archer the status of his windage and elevation adjustments,appropriate markings such as the indicia I may be formed on either theaperture mount 9 as shown in FIG. 3 or the adjacent lower edge of thesight holder II which indiciatogether with a suitable reference mark onthe other of the elements, would reflect the degree of windageadjustment set into the sight. Likewise, means may be included tosignify the degree of elevation adjustment being compensated for by aparticular setting of the sight holder 11. A pointer P'is showncomprising an angular wire element movable within a vertical bore in theholder 11 and which is selectivelylocked by means of the screw P.Additionally, suitable indicia (not shown) may be formed in the face ofthe support bar 12 if desired.

Having described above the structure associated with both the windageand elevation adjustment of the present bow sight, the mechanismproviding for the orientation of the forward sight assembly 6 with thebow string will now be described. Assuming that the mounting plate 25 ofthe base assembly 4 is rigidly attached with respect to'the back 1 ofthe bow 2, it will be apparent that appropriate means must be providedbetween the rear face of the mounting plate 25 and forward sightassembly 6 in order to pivot the plane of the vertical support bar 12both forwardly and transversely with respect to the bow string.Accordingly, the anvil assembly 5 includes adjustable means providingfor its attachment to the base assembly 4. The anvil assembly comprisesa forwardmost vertical track 26 which engages the rear slide 13 of thevertical support bar 12, an inter mediate neck 27, and a rearwardlydisposed attaching plate 28. This attaching plate in effect comprises,together with the neck, a Y-shaped element including a pair of arcuatearms which are adapted to abut one side of the arcuate support plate 29of the base assembly 4. A significant portion of each side of thearcuate support plate 29 is occupied by an arcuate adjusting slot 30such that, when appropriate releasable fasteners 31 are passed throughthe respective slots 30 and into the underlying arms of the'attachingplate 28, it will be seen that a wide angle of adjustment will bepermitted between the vertical forward plane of the support bar 12 andthe bow string (not shown). This structure permits the orientation ofthe plane of the support bar 12 in a forward or rearward direction withrespect to the bow string and thus permits proper alignment of thedevice regardless of the size or curvature of the surface of the bowback to which the base assembly is secured.

In order to orient the plane of the vertical support bar 12 transverselywith respect to the bow string, means are included to laterally tilt thearcuate support plate 29 and thereby tilt the remainder of the bow sightstructure. As will be seen most clearly in FIGS. 1 and 4, the arcuatesupport plate 29 of the base assembly 4 is attached to the mountingplate 25 by means of a pair of releasable screws 32 and 33. Theuppermostscrew 32 provides a fixed point of connection between the mounting plate25 and the foot 34 of the arcuate support plate 29, while the lowermostscrew 33 provides an adjustable point of connection between the mountingplate and the other foot 34 of the arcuate support plate 29. As shown inFIG. 4, a transversely extending slot 35 is included in the lowerportion of the mounting plate 25 such that, upon loosening of the screw33, the entire bow sight assembly may be tilted laterally about the axisof the upper screw 32 prior to tightening of the screw 33.

Often, it is desirable to vary the distance of the sight aperture fromthe eye of the archer, particularly in the case of target shooting,wherein an increase in this distance produces a significant increase inthe accuracy of the sighting device. Accordingly, the present inventionproposes the use of an adjustable extension assembly 36 shown in FIGS. 2and 5, whichassembly includes a longitudinal base element 37 releasablyattached to the vertical track 26 of the anvil assembly and upon whichis mounted the longitudinal slide element 38. The rear of thelongitudinal base element 37 is provided with a rear slide 39 of aconfiguration identical to the rear slide 13 of the vertical support bar12, whereby the same lock screw 40 that provides for verticallypositioning the support bar 12 now serves to lock the rear slide 39 ofthe base element 37 in the selected vertical position within thevertical track 26. A recess 41 is provided on one side of the baseelement 37 and is of a vertical height selected to provide a closesliding fit of the slide element 38.The forwardmost portion of the slideelement is provided with a vertical track 42 of a construction similarto the vertical track 26 of the anvil assembly and within which trackthe support bar 12 is now disposed and retained by means of the lockscrew 43. From the foregoing, it will be seen that variation of thedistance of the line of sight between the archers eye and the sightmount 9 is readily achieved by releasing and re-securing the adjustmentscrew 44 which passes through the slide element elongated slot 45 andinto the longitudinal base element 37. Suitable indicia 46 may beincluded in either the slide element 38 or the base element 37 to permita source of reference to the user.

As previously mentioned, the preferred method of attaching the bow sightof the present invention to the back of a bow insures a quick yetpositive attachment of the device. The mounting screw 7 which freelyturns through an opening in the mounting plate 25 of the base assembly 4is utilized to firmly retain the base assembly against the back 1 of thebow 2 by its engagement within suitable nut means anchored within thebow stock such as the internally threaded bushing B. A pair of locatorpins 47 project rearwardly from the base of the mounting plate 25adjacent the top and bottom edges thereof and are adapted to be disposedwithin close fitting holes provided in the back of the bow whereby itwill be seen that positive means are provided for accurately positioningthe bow sight upon the bow even during repeated applications and removaltherefrom. Preferably, a relief area 48 is formed in the base of themounting plate 25 and extends substantially the area intermediate thetwo locator pins 47, 47. This construction further insures a rigidanchoring of the base assembly 4 to the how 2, particularly in view ofthe irregular curvature present in this area of many bow stocks.

We claim:

1. A sighting device for attachment to an archery bow comprising, a baseassembly having a vertical mounting plate engageable with the bow stockin a fixed position with respect thereto, said mounting plate providedwith a laterally extending slot therethrough, an anvil assemblyextending forwardly of said base assembly, said base assembly includinga vertical support plate having a pair of vertically spaced-apart feetengaging said mounting plate, said anvil assembly having an attachingplate disposed adjacent said support plate, a vertically extendingsupport bar disposed forwardly of said anvil assembly, a sight assemblycarried by said support bar and including a sight aperture, meansconnected to said sight assembly permitting of both vertical andhorizontal displacement of said sight aperture with respect to saidsupport bar, anvil assembly and base assembly, releasable fasteningmeans on said base assembly and anvil assembly angularly connecting saidanvil and base assemblies to said mounting plate in selected positionsadapted to align said support bar perpendicular to the archers line ofsight, said fastening means including releasable elements connectingsaid attaching plate to said support plate to permit vertical pivotaladjustment of said anvil assembly about said base assembly through afixed horizontal axis, and said fastening means further including afirst releasable element connecting one said support plate foot about afixed point to said mounting plate and a second releasable elementlaterally displaceable through said laterally extending slot in saidmounting plate to connect the other said support plate foot to saidmounting plate to permit transverse pivotal adjustment of said baseassembly about said first releasable element.

2. A sighting device according to claim 1 wherein, said support barincludes a slide and said sight assembly means includes a clamping shoemovable along said slide to permit said vertical displacement of saidsight aperture. and support bar.

3. A sighting device according to claim 2 wherein, said means connectedto said sight assembly includes, finger operable screw means connectedto said shoe to selectively release and secure said sight assembly uponsaid support bar.

4. A sighting device according to claim 2 wherein, said support barincludes a second slide engageable with said anvil assembly.

5. A sighting device according to claim 4 wherein, the forward portionof said anvil assembly is provided with a vertical track mating withsaid second slide whereby said support bar may be vertically displacedwith respect to said anvil assembly.

6. A sighting device according to claim 1 wherein, said sight assemblyincludes a sight holder having a sight mount connected thereto forhorizontal sliding movement, said holder attached to said support bar,said sight aperture'attachedto said mount, whereby said means connectedto said sight assembly may be operated to cause relative displacementboth between said holder and mount and between said mount and supportbar.

7. A sighting device according to claim 1 including, a longitudinallyadjustable extension assembly disposed between said anvil assembly andsaid support bar whereby the distance between the bow and said sightassembly may be varied. r

8. A sighting device according to claim 7 wherein, said extensionassembly includes a base element having its rear end releasably attachedto said anvil assembly, and a slide element overlying said base elementand having its forward end releasably attached to said support bar.

1. A sighting device for attachment to an archery bow comprising, a baseassembly having a vertical mounting plate engageable with the bow stockin a fixed position with respect thereto, said mounting plate providedwith a laterally extending slot therethrough, an anvil assemblyextending forwardly of said base assembly, said base assembly includinga vertical support plate having a pair of vertically spaced-apart feetengaging said mounting plate, said anvil assembly having an attachingplate disposed adjacent said support plate, a vertically extendingsupport bar disposed forwardly of said anvil assembly, a sight assemblycarried by said support bar and including a sight aperture, meansconnected to said sight assembly permitting of both vertical andhorizontal displacement of said sight aperture with respect to saidsupport bar, anvil assembly and base assembly, releasable fasteningmeans on said base assembly and anvil assembly angularly connecting saidanvil and base assemblies to said mounting plate in selected positionsadapted to align said support bar perpendicular to the archer''s line ofsight, said fastening means including releasable elements connectingsaid attaching plate to said support plate to permit vertical pivotaladjustment of said anvil assembly about said base assembly through afixed horizontal axis, and said fastening means further including afirst releasable element connecting one said support plate foot about afixed point to said mounting plate and a second releasable elementlaterally displaceable through said laterally extending slot in saidmounting plate to connect the other said support plate foot to saidmounting plate to permit transverse pivotal adjustment of said baseassembly about said first releasable element.
 2. A sighting deviceaccording to claim 1 wherein, said support bar includes a slide and saidsight assembly means includes a clamping shoe movable along said slideto permit said vertical displacement of said sight aperture. and supportbar.
 3. A sighting device according to claim 2 wherein, said meansconnected to said sight assembly includes, finger operable screw meansconnected to said shoe to selectively release and secure said sightassembly upon said support bar.
 4. A sighting device according to claim2 wherein, said support bar includes a second slide engageable with saidanvil assembly.
 5. A sighting device according to claim 4 wherein, theforward portion of said anvil assembly is provided with a vertical trackmating with said second slide whereby said support bar may be verticallydisplaced with respect to said anvil assembly.
 6. A sighting deviceaccording to claim 1 wherein, said sight assembly includes a sightholder having a sight mount connected thereto for horizontal slidingmovement, said holder attached to said support bar, said sight apertureattached to said mount, whereby said means connected to said sightassembly may be operated to cause relative displacement both betweensaid holder and mount and between said mount and support bar.
 7. Asighting device according to claim 1 including, a longitudinallyadjustable extension assembly disposed between said anvil assembly andsaid support bar whereby the distance between the bow and said sightassembly may be varied.
 8. A sighting device according to claim 7wherein, said extension assembly includes a base element having its rearend releasably attached to said anvil assembly, and a slide elementoverlying said base element and having its forward end releasablyattached to said support bar.